Bargari sacrilege: Bail plea of two dera followers rejected

The SIT led by inspector general of police (IGP), border range, Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, had on May 16 arrested six followers of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in the sacrilege case

The court of judicial magistrate Ajaypal Singh here on Monday dismissed the bail plea of two accused Dera Sacha Sauda followers, Nishan Singh and Pardeep Kumar, in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case.

Torn pages of a bir (copy of Guru Granth Sahib) were found scattered near the shrine at Bargari on October 12, 2015. (Representational photo)

On October 12, 2015, the torn pages of a bir (copy of Guru Granth Sahib), which was stolen from the Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, were found scattered near the shrine at Bargari.

The SIT led by inspector general of police (IGP), border range, Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, on May 16 arrested Sukhjinder Singh, alias Sunny; Nishan Singh; Ranjit Singh, alias Bhola; and Pardeep Kumar; all resident of Kotkapura; Shakti Singh of Daggu Romana village and Baljit Singh of Sikhanwala village.

Last month, all six followers of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, who were arrested for Bargari sacrilege, filed a joint application in a court seeking bail. But the bail application was withdrawn after the court of chief judicial magistrate had sought a report from the jail superintendent regarding the number of cases pending against the accused. Later, Pardeep and Nishan moved bail applications separately. As Sukhjinder, Shakti, Baljit, and Ranjit are already named as accused in three other sacrilege-related cases, they have not moved fresh bail applications.

Vinod Monga, counsel for the dera followers, argued that the SIT has failed to produce any evidence against Nishan and Pardeep so far. “They should be released on bail as they are innocent,” he added. However, the court dismissed the bail applications of both the accused.